At Sundown: Shots in the Dark Review

Worth Getting

Darkness is a friend, so is your weapon of choice. Lurk, creep and blast your way past Sundown.

Let me just say that this game could have been pretty fun online. It's been out for a while now - however the biggest issue is the availability of players, which we could not find. As I got two codes, the only way I could play is with my brother, so I gave him the other. I think playing this on Xbox without friends will be a big problem. But, let's get into it.

The Layout

Up to four players can play at once. It's like a battle royal, 1V1 and 2V2. You all start in opposite corners from each other. When it is time to start shooting you have to find your opponent. The thing is, most of the small walled level is blacked out. So, if a character steps into the dark where there is no light, you will not be able to see him. You need to learn how to maneuver in the dark and get the hang of following your opponents. If your opponent were to run, you will be able to see a trace of color to where he ran in the dark. There are weapons that will allow you to shoot flares off so you can see light wherever you shoot it to try and find you opponent. In each corner there are lights, within those lights, boxes will pop up with boosts or power ups. A couple for example, boost, it makes you run real fast and every player gets it. Another might be a sword, it is called a "Giant Claymore". This sword is so deadly. Another one is power up for a gun your holding, it'll allow you to fire off as many rounds as you want without reloading for a period of time. This game is great, don't get me wrong, I do not like that you don't have many people at all to play with online. That's what really mad me upset about this game. But it is ok if you can find others to play with.

The Guns

So, within the game you have a few selections of guns, some have two types of fire modes and others only have one.

Revolvers: You will have bouncing bullets with the original firing button which is "RT", the secondary, "RB" is going to be a flare which will light up a little spot in the areas that are dark. The flare is really handy.

Sniper: The Sniper, like in any other game is the hardest weapon to use but it is deadly if you learn how to use it. There is a laser like beam that shows you where you will shoot. The beam itself will not go through objects that are in front of you, but the bullets are. The bullets will shoot straight through all objects and hit your enemy. The secondary, drop a landmine and you can trigger the detonation trigger from a distance. Very handy.

Auto Rifle: The name speaks for itself, except it is a three round burst. You will have an alternate firing mode on this weapon too which allows you to fire off a grenade. It'll explode in about 2 - 3 seconds.

SMG: Fully Automatic gun. Just hold the trigger down and release the hail of bullets. The secondary is you can shoot a fake looking trace as if you were running to throw people off, but really you go nowhere. It is released from your gun, a decoy.

Shotgun: In my opinion the Shotgun is the best. Two shooting modes just like the rest. The primary, two shots with powerful force. You have two shots that spread pretty wide. The secondary shot puts both shots together and will cover an even wider range of coverage. You don't even have to get that close, you have some range on this shotgun. You learn how to use this, and you'll be good.

Characters

You have four different players you can choose from, they do not have names, so I'll substitute how they look in place of their names.

Black dude with corn rolls with a very nice black vest on, almost a mobster type look.

White dude with a black and a rim all the way around with a strap going around the hat as a whole with a little silver buckle on the side. Leather jacket with the collar sticking up.

Asian woman with a semi emo hair cut with a red streak dyed, curving around her face. Leather jacket with a button up shirt.

Whit woman with long dark black hair, red glasses and a one piece. The one piece consists of a two sided color outfit. All leather, pants to go with.

The colors that can be chosen for your characters are, red, blue, yellow and green.

Not much to it, there is no customization for your characters other than the team color you choose.

Graphics

So, this is not an 8 bit game. These graphics are rather good. This is an isometric game and the characters almost looked they have been drawn from a comic book. The levels consist of what some would say, looks like a maze. Go around corners and blast your opponents, lurking in the dark after any enemy in sight. I mean there really is not much to say about the graphics. There is what looks like a floor plan of a house with only the walls and the objects within those walls. The outer, outer background? Black, this is a small arena. It is dark a lot except the spots that have lights shinning down in certain spots. This is really all there is, sorry to disappoint.

Game Play

The gameplay is slow... You can run, or dodge, but that will only reveal your location. So be careful on how and when you use these abilities. Once you start playing and learning how to navigate in the dark, it gets fun. The ammunition from each gun varies. Some are slow and some are fast as others are powerful. So, the way your game goes really depends on how many upgrades you can get and how well you know the dark and your weapon. These weapons have some very useful secondary firing option. Each gun is good, but I prefer the shotgun. It has a wide spread as well as range. You can not go wrong with those on a shotgun. The power from the shotgun is amazing. I'll say this again, moving in the darkness is almost key. If you can do it well, you will kill a lot of enemies. That would be my biggest advice. Second would be find the best weapon for you. You can master these weapons and they are all cool. Isometric view and running in between four walls with objects in various places. This is the game in short. But when you start playing, that's where things get interesting.

My Conclusion

I did not have much to say about the overall online play, as there was a real lack of people online -- I have not even come across one. I had to play with my brother, who I gave a code to. So just from playing with him, I found it can be real fun, it's worth getting.